When Milton Hershey decided to build a 7,000-seat arena in 1936, some of the 2,000 residents of Hershey questioned where he’d find people to fill a facility that immense.

View full sizeProvided photoThe late Robert B. Payne, left, operations director of Hersheypark Arena for 22 years who had a post-game show called the Bears Den, interviews former Hershey Bears forward Keith McCreary, right, while Paynes son, Kim, center, watches.

“They thought he had lost his mind. Where would they get that many people to attend a concert?” said D. Paul Witmer Jr., whose father of the same name supervised the construction of this and other major Hershey buildings from 1925 to 1960.

“Finally, Mr. Hershey made the decision to go with it,” Witmer said, after seeing his Ice Palace (which later became the Hershey Museum) packed with people skating and playing ice hockey.

If he hadn’t built the arena, Witmer believes the town “would have been strangely different. ... Hockey added a lot to our culture around here.”

The public is invited to help celebrate Hersheypark Arena’s 75th birthday Sept. 10, and benefit the Hershey-Derry Twp. Historical Society at the same time.

The group looks for a unique location for its annual Preservation Dinner each year, and director Nicole Soliday said the “iconic landmark” was the perfect choice this year.

“It was certainly a marvel at the time,” Soliday said. It became “the heart of the community,” offering a location where people could gather year-round.

It hosted celebrations ranging from “baby parades” to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 63rd birthday party in 1953. Performers gracing stages ranged from Liberace and Lawrence Welk to Ted Nugent, the Carpenters and the Eagles.

Touring ice shows like the Ice Follies and the Ice Capades also garnered a big following.

A much-publicized page in its history came when Wilt Chamberlain, playing for the Philadelphia Warriors, scored a record 100 points during an NBA game against the New York Knicks in 1962.

What would have been one of the biggest names to perform in the arena would have been Elvis, but he died the same night Col. Tom Parker had made a verbal commitment — Aug. 16, 1977, said former Hershey resident Kim Payne. Kim’s father, the late Robert B. Payne, was operations director of the arena and stadium for 22 years.

The arena also has been home of the Hershey Figure Skating Club, and sporting events from wrestling to basketball and tennis.

It was also the place people went in times of crisis. Workers gathered to hold Hershey strike rallies, and it was an evacuation center during the Three Mile Island accident.

But most would agree the arena is best-known for its rich hockey history, serving as home to the longest-standing franchise in the AHL.

The arena’s construction put an estimated 250 people to work for eight months during the Depression. Witmer recalled his father was sent by Milton Hershey to scout other venues such as Madison Square Garden. His marching orders were that the new arena should not have any obstructions such as pillars to mar spectators’ views.

He found German engineer Anton Tedesko, who had come up with a unique arched concrete roof design that was used in Germany in the early 1930s.

“To build that structure was a major effort, to say the least,” Witmer said, particularly with the limited technology of the time. A huge wooden support structure was needed to build the monolithic roof, which was 100 feet tall at its peak.

Once the arena was built, Hershey was never the same.

“Hershey was a wondrous place to grow up,” said Bruce Hancock, who grew up on Chocolate Avenue and spent countless hours at the arena. His father, the late Brent Hancock, who attended the Milton Hershey School, was longtime public relations manager for the Hershey Bears.

“Through my growing up years, Wednesday and Saturday nights you went to a hockey game — it was the family social event. We got to know all the people — the workers, where everyone sat and stood. As a kid it was magical,” Hancock said.

“The place was elegant. I thought it was the greatest place ever on a hockey night — the sights, the sounds. It was electric,” Hancock said.

But Hancock isn’t among those in the hockey world who refer to the arena as “the old barn.”

“It will never be an ‘old barn’ in my eyes,” he said, even though he knows it’s meant to be a term of endearment.

Kim Payne and his two brothers also grew up in the arena, working jobs ranging from usher to stick boy. Over 32 years, Kim said he did all the off-ice jobs available, ranging from statistician to announcer.

Payne also had a unique role from ages 10 to 12, when his dad, who was the play-by-play radio announcer for the Bears, had a postgame radio show for home games.

“It was my job go to the locker room to get the MVP” so his dad could interview him, he said. Kim Payne would usually get to have his photo taken with the player, “which was quite the thrill,” and give the player a box of Hershey’s chocolates.

“I saw a lot of guys come through Hershey that made their way through the big teams,” he said.

Kim Payne said the arena is sitting on prime real estate for Hersheypark, and said he wouldn’t be surprised if someday the owners might want to convert it into some type of venue for the park — hopefully maintaining the outside structure.

“We’ve seen enough landmarks come and go — I’d hate to see that one go. ... It’s a unique place for a lot of people,” he said.

Kathy Burrows, Hershey Entertainment spokeswoman, said demolition is not under discussion. But eventual change in use is possible, according to a long-range plan for the entertainment complex.

Soliday said she believes the arena will be here for many years to come.

Witmer said he hopes the arena gets historical recognition in the future, because it is not listed in the state or national registers of historic places.

That possibility has been discussed over the years, Soliday said.

Susan Cort, spokesman for the historical society, said owner Hershey Entertainment has done a “phenomenal job” of preserving the arena, and the company is taking steps to preserve the roof and interior.

“It is a testament to its history that 75 years later that building is still used by a multitude of community groups,” Cort said.

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